One is the loneliest number
by Blue Wolf2
Summary: The team is gone. House and Cameron think back on their time together.
1. Chapter 1

**Lonely**

_"Consider this my two weeks notice." _

"You're fired."

"My resignation letter…I've gotten all I can from this job." 

House sat in his office, nursing another glass of scotch. He had sat in his patient's room for awhile, before moving back to his office.

They were all gone. His whole team.

_Fuck._ He let his head slide back to rest on his chair as he swirled his drink in his glass.

He had had a feeling for awhile that Foreman was going to leave. He had known from the day he hired him that he wouldn't be around long.

As for Chase, he had been looking for a reason to fire him since he walked in on him and Cameron in the janitor's closet.

And then there was Cameron. His only female duckling. The only one who had always stood behind him. The one who had been a faithful underling. The one who had defended him time and time again. She had done all this and he had let her go. He had let her leave.

_"People pray to God, so he won't crush them like bugs. I'm not going to crush you…"_

When she had handed him that envelope he had wanted to tear it up. Wanted to tell her that she wasn't allowed to leave. That she couldn't leave. He had wanted to ask her to stay.

But he didn't.

_"I'll miss you."_ Leave it to Cameron to leave with words like those. Words so small, yet sharp enough to cut through him like a knife.

_"All change is bad? It's not true you know." _

Oh Cameron… he thought. _Change is bad. At least, in this case._

Setting his glass down he picked up his phone. He stared at it for a moment, before turning it over in his hand several times. He was about to set it down in exchange for his glass of scotch when something Cameron had said popped into his mind.

_"I expect you to do what you always do. I expect you to make a joke and go on.__** I expect you to be just fine."**_

Flipping open his phone, he quickly hit the keys for a text message. He stared at the screen for a moment before hitting send. He sat the phone down before standing from the chair and venturing off to the bathroom.

He would spend the night here, he decided. He was too tired to drive. Plus, he didn't want to go home. To sleep in the bed where Cameron had sat next to him just weeks before.

_To: Cameron  
You're not just a piece of lobby art. And I won't be just fine.  
From: House_


	2. Chapter 2

She had just resigned. House hadn't said anything as she handed him the letter, but she could tell he was hurt. But so was she. She was tired of being led on, tired of being criticized and humiliated. She was tired of feeling like she had to prove to him that she could do things.

Memories from the past several years ran through her head as she made her way into the kitchen.

_"You don't want. You need."_

She did need. She thought to herself as she poured vodka into a glass. After all, she had needed Chase to make House jealous.

_"It was fun, that's it. And now it's over."_

She always needed, especially when it came to him. She had needed House to prove his feelings to her.

_"Everyone likes you." _

"Do you? I have to know…"

"No." 

She needed to hide her feelings for him.

_"I'm over you! I've jumped on the band wagon, I hate you, ok?"_

The vodka burned its way down her throat as thoughts coursed through her head. She had even found herself needing to prove herself to him. Needing to prove that she could make a difficult decision.

_"I'm proud of you."_

She remembered his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it, reassuring her that taking a famous researchers' life was the _right_ thing to do. He had left moments after that and she had cried even harder.

She had stood up for him many times during her fellowship. She had challenged her colleges, other doctors, as well as the Dean of Medicine. All for him.

_"I'm the only one who's always stood behind you when you've screwed up!" _

"Why? Why would you support someone who screws up?" 

She did it, because she always knew he was right. Even when she argued with him, there was always something deep down, in her gut that told her, he was right.

_"I figured, everything you do, you do it to help people. But I was wrong. You do it because it's __**right**__."_

She sat down, taking a sip of her drink. Her head was full of emotions. Part of her was proud for leaving, for moving on. Another part of her was telling her she had done the wrong thing.

_"You really wanna leave?" _

"If you're not here, there's not much point in staying." 

She sighed, sinking into the cushions of her couch. Glancing at her phone, she thought about picking it up. Her hand had almost reached it when it buzzed. She jumped; shocked that anyone would be sending a text to her at this time of night.

She stared at the phone for a moment before flipping it open. Reading the message her eyes grew in shock and surprise.

_"What does that guy have to do to make you hate him?" _

Nothing. She thought to herself. She stared at the phone, chewing on her lip. She glanced at her glass of vodka before grabbing it and downing the remaining alcohol. Then, before she could change her mind, she typed and sent her reply. She shut her phone and slowly made her way down the hall and to bed. A bed full of thoughts and dreams of a certain blue eyed diagnostician. 

_To: House  
I don't need you because you're damaged. I need you because I'm damaged.  
From: Cameron_


	3. Chapter 3

His leg was throbbing, but he didn't care. He didn't want to go home. If he went home he wouldn't want to leave for work when it was time to get up. And as much as he acted like he hated his job, he didn't. He enjoyed it. Though he knew his enjoyment for it was going to go down, now that Cameron was gone.

He limped back to his office after using the restroom. The halls were eerily quiet and for once in his life he wished they weren't. He wished that instead of entering a quiet, dark office that his ducklings were following behind him, arguing over the best way to treat a patient. He shook his head, trying to clear it of the thoughts he was having. He noticed his cell phone flashing and bent to pick it up as he laid his cane down.

He flipped it open and hit open to read the text. His eyebrows shot up as he read the words she had sent. He shut the phone, wondering what to do. Should he respond or should he ignore it and pretend it never happened? He poured himself another glass of scotch, hoping for a distraction.

"_House, why didn't you pick up the phone? We've been calling."_

"_I was sleeping."_

"_What did you do…?"_

"_Nothing! This is how regular people look when you wake them up!"_

He had been so close to her that night he could smell her, feel the heat radiating off of her. That night, he had wanted nothing more than to pull her down on the bed. Keep her in his house and never let her leave. Ever.

He had had so many chances over the years to ask her to stay. But he never did. Every time she walked away from him, he would stand there and watch her go. He had honestly never thought she would leave for good. Unlike Foreman, he was sure she'd be around for a long time. He was wrong. He had been offered several chances to show her how he felt and he had never taken them. Tonight was his last chance, and he had let it slip by. He had let Allison Cameron walk out of his office for the last time.

"_I'm leaving."_

"_I thought…you were too screwed up to love anyone. But I was wrong. You just couldn't love me…"_

"_Ignorance is bliss…"_

"_House, stop this…please."_

He poured himself another glass of alcohol as his gaze settled on her old desk. It was blank and empty. Just like his heart. He swallowed his drink, realizing that he had finally lost the one good thing in his life. The one thing that had kept him going, no matter what life threw at him.

Her last three words echoed in his head as his eyes closed.

"_I'll miss you."_

In three words she was gone forever.


End file.
